Project management is an essential skill for improving the competency of leading members of an organization, thereby improving the organization's capability to do more and be more. The fundamental element of project management is identifying what constitutes a project, knowing how to manage projects, and successfully navigating the internal and external constraints surrounding projects. This assignment will give students the opportunity to share past or current personal or professional initiatives that can be classified as a project, discuss its characteristics, and identify any associated constraints.

How to Proceed

1. Prepare a written assignment of 900 - 1300 words, excluding title page, bibliography, introduction, conclusion, or summary. Guidelines on word count for each section are provided below.
   • Identify a past or current personal or professional initiative classified as a project;
   • Provide the name of the initiative, and state if it is an ongoing or past initiative; and
   • Share any background to provide context on the initiative.
   • Discuss the characteristics of the identified project in terms of purpose, process, change, scope, duration, and uniqueness of initiative.
   • Reflect on the project management principles described in Unit 4; and
   • Discuss at least three principles that were applied in the project identified above.
   • Discuss the top three constraints in the project identified above. Project Management Institute (2021) defines a constraint as a limiting factor that affects the execution of a project, program, portfolio, or process.
2. Submit your report to the Assignment 2: Project Characteristics and Principles dropbox in UM Learn.

Grading

This assignment will be graded using the following rubric.

Criteria	5 Points	4 Points	2-3 Points	0-1 Points	Points
Project Chracteristics	The student shows an excellent attempt at fulfilling the requirements of the assignment. The student identified a relevant project and succinctly discussed the characteristics in terms of purpose, process, change, scope, duration, and uniqueness of initiative, with supporting background information.	The student demonstrates a good attempt at fulfilling the requirements of the assignment. The student identified a relevant project and discussed the characteristics of purpose, process, change, scope, duration, and uniqueness of initiative, however some details may be lacking.	The student attempted the assignment, but it was marginally completed with missing parts. The student identified a project, but the characteristics of the project discussed lack details or vaguely relate to the identified project.	Assignment deviates from expectations and does not address the requisite information.	/5
Project Management Principles	The assignment includes an exceptional rendition of the applicable project management principles relevant to the identified project.	The assignment includes a good explanation of applicable project management principles relevant to the identified project.	Some project management principles were identified, but with little reference to the identified project.	Project management principles have no to little reference to the identified project.	/5
Project Constraints	The assignment adequately covered internal and external constraints associated with the specified project. A concluding note summarizes the whole assignment in light of the topic.	The assignment covered internal and external constraints associated with the specified project.	The assignment covered some internal or external constraints associated with the specified project.	There are few or no internal or external constraints provided.	/5
Writing	The assignment is fully APA compliant, easy to follow, and contains no spelling or grammatical errors.	The assignment is partially APA compliant, is easy to follow, and contains minimal spelling or grammatical errors.	The assignment is not APA compliant, is difficult to follow, and has significant spelling, grammatical or formatting errors that detract from understanding.	The assignment is difficult to understand or incomplete.